(no subject)
me: has being in the army influenced your political views at all?
matt: Not in the least. I do my job and that's it. I don't care who my boss is. I didn't join the military to NOT go to war if need be, regardless of how pointless.
me: well it wouldnt make a whole lot of sense to join specifically to not go to war, its just interesting to imagine what people in the army politically given that they are more affected by decisions than the average american
matt: I think politics are lame. I don't like paying attention to them, because it's always causing argument with someone.
matt: But I will note that most people I've met in the Army are republican. And the few democrats that are in it don't mind serving a republican president.
matt: Almost everyone in the army doesn't really see the purpose in the Iraq war, but I haven't met someone that complains about it. Most of the gung ho army guys see it as a chance to earn their stripes and get some respect out of the Army.
me: so they dont see the purpose but are ok going along with it
matt: Most people in the Army don't really "like" or "dislike" anything politically or war related. It's pretty much just "accept it"
me: i see
matt: If anybody dislikes the war, they keep it to themselves.
me: i guess liking and disliking it is kind of a privilege, politics are very inaccessible and never seem to change
me: it just seems so crazy because their very lives are the ones most at stake
me: you'd think with stakes like that you'd be really, um, passionate in your views
matt: The closest thing to an actual opinion I've heard is that one of my drill sergeants once said "You all are just a bunch of stupid privates, similar in intellect to our boss. But by God, I'll go to war for him anyway." Or something like that.
me: so everyone is very loyal
matt: Loyalty is the first out of our seven Army Values.
me: what are the other values
matt: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, Personal courage. We use it in the acronym "LDR-SHIP"
:(
matt: Not in the least. I do my job and that's it. I don't care who my boss is. I didn't join the military to NOT go to war if need be, regardless of how pointless.
me: well it wouldnt make a whole lot of sense to join specifically to not go to war, its just interesting to imagine what people in the army politically given that they are more affected by decisions than the average american
matt: I think politics are lame. I don't like paying attention to them, because it's always causing argument with someone.
matt: But I will note that most people I've met in the Army are republican. And the few democrats that are in it don't mind serving a republican president.
matt: Almost everyone in the army doesn't really see the purpose in the Iraq war, but I haven't met someone that complains about it. Most of the gung ho army guys see it as a chance to earn their stripes and get some respect out of the Army.
me: so they dont see the purpose but are ok going along with it
matt: Most people in the Army don't really "like" or "dislike" anything politically or war related. It's pretty much just "accept it"
me: i see
matt: If anybody dislikes the war, they keep it to themselves.
me: i guess liking and disliking it is kind of a privilege, politics are very inaccessible and never seem to change
me: it just seems so crazy because their very lives are the ones most at stake
me: you'd think with stakes like that you'd be really, um, passionate in your views
matt: The closest thing to an actual opinion I've heard is that one of my drill sergeants once said "You all are just a bunch of stupid privates, similar in intellect to our boss. But by God, I'll go to war for him anyway." Or something like that.
me: so everyone is very loyal
matt: Loyalty is the first out of our seven Army Values.
me: what are the other values
matt: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, Personal courage. We use it in the acronym "LDR-SHIP"
:(